title: Medical futility: a commonly used and potentially abused idea in medical ethics.
abstract: Hospital doctors frequently invoke the idea of medical futility in making decisions regarding end-of-life care. This concept of futility will be reviewed and the differing definitions and how it relates to other important principles in biomedical ethics discussed.
authors.affiliation: Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency, Graigavon Area Hospital, Portadown, UK.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D018447:Medical Futility; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000941:ethics*; D009626:Terminology as Topic